Quick & Easy Content Writing Tips: Further vs. Farther

July 31, 2017

Here’s another entry in the Quick & Easy Content Writing Tips series that gives many of us trouble. Although, when doing some research it seems like the real trouble is most people have no idea when to use which one. It can be tricky, for sure.

Keep reading and we will try to shed some light on the further vs. farther issue.

The Easy Explanation

The easy way to figure this one out is to remember “farther” should be used for physical distances and “further” should be used for figurative or metaphorical distance. Some people like to keep in mind that farther includes the word “far” which relates to physical distance.

Some Examples

Here are a few examples that may help clear things up:

“How much farther do we need to drive to get to the hotel?”

“If you complain about the distance any further, I’m going to smack you.”

“My golf ball went farther than yours.”

“That statement requires further analysis.”

There are some instances where you can use either one, “Sally moved farther down the train.” or “Sally moved further down the train.” There is likely a comprehensive list that details situations when they can be used interchangeably, and if you’d like to go seek one out, go right ahead!

Does It Really Matter?

It’s common for people to use these two words interchangeably, and we seem to use further more often than farther regardless of its place in the sentence. While you aren’t likely to get taken away by the grammar police, it’s still a good idea to use the right one when writing content. You don’t need to micromanage your content to a ridiculous degree, but don’t just use whichever when you know the difference, either.

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If you’re like many people out there in the digital world, you love to throw a handful of hashtags at the end of each post, message or tweet. It’s likely true that most of you are doing it because you see others doing it, or have heard it’s the right thing to do, but do you really know why?